OK, at the risk of turning this into a monologue, I think I may have found something.

I looked in the event viewer from the time I initiated the restart, and I can see that when the machine came back up again, there are loads of entries from WindowsUpdateClient, indicating that it was download and installing updates. Normally, when Windows is updating, it either does it in the background, or it shows a message something like "Preparing to update Windows, do not switch off your PC."

I wonder if this is what it was doing, and it just wasn't showing the message? If so, there's nothing fundamentally wrong with the black screen, it's just not telling me what it's doing. It doesn't address the issue of why the Start menu didn't work though.

There were a few (like very few) errors in the System log, all from DistributedCOM of the form...

The application-specific permission settings do not grant Local Activation permission for the COM Server application with CLSID {D63B10C5-BB46-4990-A94F-E40B9D520160} and APPID {9CA88EE3-ACB7-47C8-AFC4-AB702511C276} to the user DAISY\AY Silver SID (S-1-5-21-1775069759-3338523580-7065622-1001) from address LocalHost (Using LRPC) running in the application container Unavailable SID (Unavailable). This security permission can be modified using the Component Services administrative tool.

However, I've sen these throughout this whole sorry episode, and am not sure if they are connected with the problem. The only error in the Application log was the following...

All that you just posted is beyond my knowledge. zbook must be very busy not to be posting lately. BSOD analysts do get very busy.

You're most likely correct about the driver then. If it continues after your last post plan, turn fast boot off (not secure boot) in the BIOS. See if that helps. You may also want to disable hibernation as well if turning off fast boot doesn't do it.

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I just came back after 45 mins to find the machine ready for me to sign in. However, when I did, the Start button didn't work.

I just restarted it again, and now it's sitting there with a black screen again. However, I can see the disk light flickering, so it looks like it is doing something. Based on my previous guesswork, I would say it's applying more updates. From what I've seen, it seems to need to apply them in a specific order, and reboot in between. Given that I installed Office and SQL Server, which will have a lot of individual updates, it's probably updating them.

Still puzzled about the Start menu not working, and why (if my guesswork is correct) I don't see anything while it's updating, but I think the best thing to do right now would be to let it update and reboot as many times as it needs, and see if the problem persists after that.

When it next reboots I'll take a look at turning off fast boot.

Thanks again.

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The chkdsk report displayed some results however the full report was not viewable:
Checking file system on D:Volume dismounted. All opened handles to this volume are now invalid.Volume label is Data.Examining 82 corruption records ...

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1) How do I find my specs? I bought a machine from Dell, I didn't build it myself. I wouldn't have any idea how to find the details for the PSU. cooler, or case (not even sure what info you would want). Peripherals are easy.

2) Not sure what else to install. I went to Dell's web site and downloaded their tool that detects what updates you need. It only showed three, chipset, BIOS and networking, which I asked about yesterday. Should I install those three? Also, what else should I install? Dell didn't detect any others.

3 & 4) Do you mean boot into safe mode and see if I get the black screen? Trouble is, I don't get it every time now. As I said before, I think it was to do with updates, and as the machine is now updated, it doesn't (usually) give me a black screen for more than a few seconds.

Not sure what your conclusion is about chkdsk. HD Tune showed the drive as good.

I ran the memory test last night, and it passed the first test after about 6 hours. It gave me a message saying it was complete, and press Esc to continue. Not realising what this meant, I did, and it stopped the test. However, if you want 8 passes, that's going to be at least 48 hours. Not sure when I can leave the machine for that long. I've lost an entire week so far, can't wipe out two full days more. Might set it going over the weekend.

Are you sure it's a memory problem? Or rather, do you have a strong suspicion that it could be? I'm a novice compared to you, but wouldn't have thought that a memory problem would manifest itself this way. My main issue now is that often when booting into Windows, the Start menu doesn't work. The black screens are annoying, but as it seems to be updates without any visual cue, I'm less bothered about that.

Thanks again for all the help. I would welcome your further comments.

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Good afternoon, Yossu. I see it's running better, eh? Are you satisfied with it at this point? I can see you're pressed for time and rightly so. We may want to follow the old adage here in that if it works, don't fix it.

So far as cooling, he's probably concerned about overheating. Does your BIOS have a section on temps, fan speeds, etc.? You can install, but I'm not keen on 3rd party utilities myself. Does HP have a utility to monitor that? My ASUS does. Have you opened the case a blow out dust from time to time?

So far as PSU, he's probably concerned about voltages. A PSU is actually the most important component of a machine. It has to regulate different voltages to various peripherals. You may want to look around on the HP site or elsewhere for a monitoring utility as well.

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Hi Tony. I'm basically satisfied about the black screen. I would prefer it if it were fixed, but it doesn't seem to be a major issue now that I (think I) know what is happening.

However, I'm very concerned about the way it often boots into Windows with the Start menu not working. That's a pretty basic part of Windows (well, hitting the Windows button on the keyboard and typing is, which is my main way of starting applications). Apart from the inconvenience of having restart multiple times, I'm concerned that this is a manifestation of something inherently wrong that's going to bite me later.

The sad thing is that the amount of money I've lost in missed hours is about enough to buy a new computer! Obviously, I didn't know that before I started, but it makes me wonder if I should cut my losses. Can't bring myself to shell out that amount of money to replace an 18 month old PC that (in theory) should be working fine, but for all I know, this could eat away more and more hours.

Bit fed up with the whole business as you can probably tell!

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